The helpdesk operated by Bord Bia to assist farmers with queries about their audits under quality assurance schemes received some 100,000 calls last year.
That’s according to Bord Bia CEO Jim O’Toole when he spoke at the recent Farming and Food Conference organised by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
This figure works out at an average of over 270 per day.
O’Toole was quizzed by chairperson of the IFA’s National Livestock Committee Declan Hanrahan, who asked the Bord Bia chief to guarantee that the new, revamped quality assurance scheme, due to be piloted in early 2025, would be more “farmer friendly” than the current system.
Hanrahan also called for the audit system to be “minimised” so that it is less of a burden on farmers.
In response, O’Toole said that the objective of the quality assurance scheme “has always been” to be as farmer friendly as possible.
“The reality of the world is that it is competitive, and that people that we are competing against have quality assurance programmes to varying degrees. And there are customers around the world who are seeking standards and seeking verification,” he said.
“What Bord Bia quality assurance offers is that you as farmers have input into the process. We try to translate the standards that are demanded from customers around the world…into a set of criteria that are appropriate to Irish farming conditions.
“We’ve always strived to minimise the burden on farmers. We recognise that it is a burden. Nobody likes getting an audit. But if we want to sell our product…you are much better off having a process where you have a stake in the design and implementation of the quality assurance programme, and through that process we will be able to compete better in international markets,” O’Toole added.
When pressed on the question on simplifying the audit process, O’Toole said: “That’s the balance we have to achieve”.
“Our customers are looking for standards. They’re not going to accept a standard that isn’t implemented and thus [not] able demonstrate the evidence that we need,” he added.
“We work very hard with you, and if there wasn’t a Bord Bia scheme, those customers would have their own scheme that would be a lot less farmer friendly I suspect.”
According to the Bord Bia CEO, the amount of time it takes to carry out a farm audit has largely stayed the same, and that the vast majority of farmers, when surveyed, are content with the audit process.
“We do surveys with farmers… We work with farmers to help them through the audit process. 97% of the farmers we survey after audit are happy that the audit process was conducted professionally and that they are given the support they needed,” he said.
“There are always instances where it’s difficult, but we try to minimise that, and will continue to do that,” O’Toole added.
He also said that Bord Bia is speaking with the organic farming certification bodies so that these bodies can “co-operate” and minimise the complications for farmers of having multiple audits.